UNB, Dhaka :
Nineteen rights organisations on Monday urged the government and NGOs to consider short and long term relief and rehabilitation measures for around 10 million coastal poor people affected by recent unusual tidal flood.
They also called for scrapping the monopoly of Water Development Board (WDB) over embankment construction and maintenance, saying the WDB must be decentralised and locally accountable to the people as well as the embankment construction and maintenance should be public participatory entrepreneurship consisting government, non-governmental, academic and professional associations.
They raised the demands at a press conference at the Jatiya Press Club in the city.
Rezaul Karim Chowdhury of COAST Trust moderated the press conference while Syed Aminul Haque of the same organisation read out a written statement. Other speakers were Nayeem Gowhar Wara of Disaster Forum, Aminur Rasul Babul of Unnayan Dhara Trust and Mostafa Kamal Akanda of COAST.
The organisers of the press conference are Uddipan, Unnayan Dhara Trust, FDA, Jono Unnayan Sangsta, Dak Diye Jai, DOCAP, Dwip Unnayan Sangsta, Nowbeki Gonomukhi Foundation,
PRAN, Prantojon, Podokkhep, Songram, Sagorika, SUS, CDP, Somaj, SAP Bangladesh and Humanity Watch.
In his written statement, Aminul Haque said steps have to be taken on urgent basis to provide shelters to the homeless families as well as to supply food until next March as they have lost the Aman crops due to unusual tidal flood.
He emphasised special assistance to initiate upcoming robi crops as well as for doubling the different Safety Net programmes for the affected and marginalized, especially for the fishermen families, women and children-headed households.
